The Honourable Naomi Yamamoto MLA |
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Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for North Vancouver-Lonsdale |
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Assumed office May 12, 2009 |
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Preceded by | Katherine Whittred |
Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations of British Columbia | |
In office June 10, 2009 – October 25, 2010 |
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Premier | Gordon Campbell |
Preceded by | Joan McIntyre |
Minister of State for Building Code Renewal of British Columbia | |
In office October 25, 2010 – March 14, 2011 |
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Premier | Gordon Campbell |
Minister of Advanced Education of British Columbia | |
In office March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012 |
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Premier | Christy Clark |
Preceded by | Ida Chong |
Succeeded by | John Yap |
Minister of State for Small Business of British Columbia | |
Assumed office September 5, 2012 |
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Premier | Christy Clark |
Personal details | |
Born | 1960/1961 (age 55–56) Vancouver, British Columbia |
Political party | British Columbia Liberal Party |
Residence | North Vancouver |
Occupation | Computer graphics |
Naomi Yamamoto (born 1960 or 1961) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election. She was elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party in the riding of North Vancouver-Lonsdale. Yamamoto's party formed a majority government in the 39th Parliament and Premier Gordon Campbell included her in his cabinet, between June 2009 and October 2010, as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations, and then as Minister of State for Building Code Renewal between October 2010 and March 2011. Following the 2011 BC Liberal leadership election, in which Yamamoto endorsed George Abbott, the new Premier, Christy Clark, promoted Yamamoto to Minister of Advanced Education.
Yamamoto has introduced one piece of legislation, the Advanced Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2011, which sought to implement several measures, including expanding the Personal Education Number system which tracks students in the BC educational system to also include private educational institutions, specifying that board members of colleges and universities are to act in the best interests of the institution, and updating the Architectural Institute of BC's dispute resolution process. The bill was introduced on November 3, 2011, but was not adopted before the winter break.
Prior to her election to the legislature, Yamamoto owned and operated a business that started as a specialty shop for laser printing but evolved to focus on design and had created props for the television and film industry. She spent time on the governing boards of Capilano College, the North Shore Credit Union, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and the Gordon and Marion Smith Foundation. She completed one term as president of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce and worked as the president and general manager of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce from 2007 until she was elected as MLA.